Ferndale ice cream shop makes online appeal to expand

FERNDALE — Demand for the homemade ice cream churned out at Treat Dreams, 22967 Woodward Ave., keeps growing and its time for the store to do the same.

After concocting more than 500 flavors since opening 2 ½ years ago, owner Scott Moloney knows the sweet taste of success. The cold reality means he needs to expand beyond his 1,920-square-foot shop into the space next door where Pak-Mail was located.

The 45-year-old Birmingham resident has enjoyed positive word of mouth for his flagship flavor salted caramel, vegan line, and combinations never attempted before like chicken and waffles.

“Hey, I don’t have a culinary background so I’ve never been told you can’t do this or that,” he said. “My first rule is there are no rules.”

His daring experimentation has helped land Treat Dreams on the menus of 10 restaurants and venture into the food truck frontier but space constraints are holding him back.

“I couldn’t add a store or a food truck until I figured out what to do about production,” he said.

A former banker, Moloney now goes by the title “chief dreamologist.” He has been saving money for a $50,000 expansion, which will double the size of the kitchen and triple both the dining area and walk-in freezer.

However, he hasn’t gotten there yet. To raise the final $15,000, Moloney has turned to indiegogo, an online “crowdfunding” platform where anyone can pitch a plan to the world and collect contributions.

With a couple weeks to go on his fund-raising campaign, the “Treat Dreams Super-exciting Expansion Project!” is nearing a third of Moloney’s goal. Unlike Kickstarter, he can keep the pledges even if he doesn’t reach $15,000 by his Feb. 14 deadline.

“If I have to, I can wait to put in the giant walk-in freezer,” Moloney said, adding that his big sales season starts in April and he can save in earnest again.

Construction is set to begin Feb. 18 and the store will be closed for three weeks. Treat Dreams will reopen on March 15.

With the larger restaurant, Moloney will expand on-site ice cream making events for kids and the “Treat Dreams After Dark” ice cream parties for adults.

In the meantime, he is tempting patrons and anyone who wants to help a local business make it to the next level with special perks for pledges to his indiegogo effort. Contribution levels start at $2 with unique rewards and experiences. One of the popular perks is “6 months of goodness” — a six-month subscription to the pint of the club — for a donation of $35.